Ex-con is charged in hit-run death

By BEN MONTGOMERY, Times Staff Writer
Published September 1, 2007

RIVERVIEW - Hillsborough County detectives have charged Harry Brian Taylor, 37, with second-degree murder Friday in connection with the hit-and-run crash that killed former pro wrestler John Meek, 52, of Gibsonton.

Witnesses told detectives that Taylor swapped words with Meek in the parking lot of James' Place, on U.S. 301 in Riverview, early Wednesday.

According to the witness, Taylor said something like, "I'm gonna run you over," the Sheriff's Office reported.

Taylor then followed Meek. According to deputies, Taylor rammed the back tire of Meek's Harley-Davidson near the intersection of Krycul Avenue and Zeppole Way. Meek died at Tampa General.

Taylor was arrested at work Wednesday night and held without bail.

Taylor served 12 years of a 40-year sentence for the fatal 1988 stabbing of a Marion County man with an 8-inch butcher knife.

Meek's biker friends have organized a memorial ride and benefit in his honor. The ride starts at Captain Jack's on U.S. 301 in Riverview at noon on Sept. 8. It ends at Williams Park in Gibsonton, where Meek's ashes will be spread upon the Alafia River.

Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@sptimes.com or 813 661-2443.

[Last modified August 31, 2007, 23:35:21]